Surprises in store
by NejiHina100
Summary: Ruby tries to get Belle to join in her Friday Night Girl's Night. But wait, if it's a girl's night...why is Gold there? And why are all the girls giggling? What do they have in store for Belle?


It was a Friday in the fourth villain-free week and Belle was putting away a few books from the library's return bin when her phone rang. She grimaced when she looked at the number. It was Ruby and while Ruby was still her friend, Belle knew exactly what she was calling about. Girls' Night. Ruby had gotten in the habit of hosting a Girl's Night every other Friday with the women of Storybrooke (mostly her, Snow, Ella, Emma-which was still odd for the sheriff-Astrid, Tink, Lily-which was also odd-Aurora, and Mulan), but Belle never went. For three reasons.

One. All the girls ever talked about was gossip, boys, or sex. With the last two often being the same. Belle was always annoyed how the girls (all smart in their own way) couldn't take a break from it all to talk about something more intellectual. Apparently, modern world or not, 'normal' women were all the same. And Belle has never been 'normal'.

Two. The last time she tried to have a Girl's Night with Ruby, she spent the night chained to one of the library desk and had to wait for David Nolan to come and free her because Ruby had either forgotten, or didn't care enough to free Belle herself. Belle had yet to forgive Ruby for that and while she was a forgiving person and Ruby hadn't truly known the whole story of her and Regina, all Belle was trying to do at the time was help her friend. And that was the thanks she got.

Three. She was never invited.

Scratch that. Ruby always invited her, she just never went. For the first two reasons, but she knew the real third reason was Rumpelstiltskin. She loved her husband dearly, despite all the pain and hurt and trouble they went through (and still dealing with now that he was the All-Powerful Dark One as Henry calls him), but the town was wary of him. They had every right to be, but Belle hated how she had to suffer for it. She had always known what loving the Dark One would involve. She was never blind to the danger or discrimination, which was why she knew they wouldn't want her there even if they invited her. She just wish people weren't so bloody narrow minded.

 _Great, now I'm talking like Hook._

Belle shoved the last book into the shelf when Ruby called again. She let the first call ring out but she knew she couldn't ignore the second, because usually Ruby respected her enough not to push. But if she was calling _again_ , it might be danger, and Belle was always willing to help. A great flaw of hers in the self-respect department she realized.

"Ruby?" she answered, waiting for the news of trouble.

"Alright Belle. I know you don't like coming, but you have no choice now."

Belle sighed. _Of course._ Ruby never let a villain stop her Girl's Night. "Ruby-"

"No Belle, I don't want to hear it. Please come. Some brains would be nice for this party."

 _Of course it would_ , Belle thought. But it didn't mean that was _all_ she was, though they always saw her as such. Which made 'hanging out' with the women in town even more difficult. Especially Snow and her family. To the heroes, she was only good for information. And they never thanked her for it. She just couldn't catch a break, could she?

"Belle, please. Come or I will hunt you down and drag you here."

Belle almost laughed. She could hear Ruby smiling on the other end and knew that not even Rumple could stop the wolf. In fact, he would probably allow the Ruby to steal her away if it meant she got out and was social. _H_ _e's one to talk. He decided to spend the night in his shop, per usual._

Belle let out a breath. Ruby really wasn't making this easy. "I-I just don't feel well tonight."

She had hoped that Ruby would take the excuse, but the girls _were_ smart in their own way. And Ruby knew her too well. They all did.

"Fine, we'll bring the party to you."

Belle spun around to hear her friend's voice behind her. There was Ruby and the gang at the door. All looking at her with knowing smiles.

"Sick? Yeah right. Like Gold would let you get sick." Emma smiled. Apparently she was having fun, despite having to hear her mom talk about 'girl stuff'.

"Wha-" _When had they come in?_

"Belle," Tink glided towards her like the fairy she was, rebellious or not. "wether you want to believe it or not, you _are_ our friend. And it's a Friday. We can't let you spend it here alone in the library."

Belle smirked. "I did the last time I had a Girl's Night. In chains."

She looked at Ruby who looked ashamed. "I said I was sorry! How many times do I have to apologize for you to accept it? Besides, I thought you were a forgiving person."

They both laughed. She was, but wasn't friends _suppose_ to hold things over your head?

"I forgive you. But why did you all come here?"

"Because even if you did say you were coming, you would have gotten side tracked and end up spending your whole night in the library."

Belle gaped at the sheriff who had her feet propped up against the table and leaning back in the chair.

"I would not have."

They all looked at her. She gave up. "Alright, but I'm sorry. I'm just not use to doing such things all the time."

"Sorry Belle, but if I have to be here, so do you." Lily smiled. Belle hardly knew anything about her, but from the few moments of interaction she had with the dragon girl Belle decided she liked her.

"What do you mean?" she looked at Lily. Suddenly, everyone got quiet and started to smile, like they had a little secret. Were they already drunk? This was definitely strange behavior. For all of them.

"Alright, we lied." Lily answered. Apparently, whatever the secret was, they couldn't keep it.

"What?"

Astrid started to giggle and jump up and down. "Surprise! This isn't a Girl's Night Belle!"

"And we're not dragging you to a bar."

"Gold wouldn't like that." Emma added on the side.

Belle glanced at the girls, completely thrown off. "I'm sorry, I still don't quite understand. What's going on?"

Ruby was slowly walking behind her while Tink and Mulan were flanking her sides. Now she was really nervous. "Well, it's a celebration."

"Of what?"

"A few things. Let's see...we've had a few weeks free of villains and magic and the usual escapades."

"Plus," Emma continued from Ruby's explanation, "heroes and villains are coming together to join forces."

Everyone looked at the blonde, confused. She just smiled. "Henry told me to say that. Continue."

"And, it's a very special and important day for one of us."

That definitely caught Belle's attention. "It is?"

Was Mary Margret pregnant again?

Before Belle could ask for any more hints or details, they heard the doors open and all looked to see who was joining the party. To Belle's big surprise, it was her husband.

"Rumple? What are you doing here?"

He stood there with his hands behind his back and smirked in that particular way that Belle always loved. It was one of the many traits of his that Belle fell in love with.

"Well, I knew you didn't want to spend the night with the girls but I also know how much they care about you."

"Even if she doesn't believe it." Belle turned around to glare at Ruby who just smiled at her.

"So, Gold asked us to help him out with something big." Tink added.

"What? What have you been doing?"

"Well, some of us had been cooking," Emma pointed towards the dried dough on some of the girls. Belle wondered why she hadn't seen that before. They were all-with the exception of Lily and Emma-dressed rather nice.

"While the rest of us had been decorating." Astrid smiled.

"Belle, we have a surprise for you." Aurora giggled.

Belle scoffed playfully. "I'm starting to realize that."

Rumpel stepped closer to her as the girls made room for him and he held out a rose. "Mrs. Gold, would you like to have dinner with me?"

Belle could hear the girls (well, the sappy girls) squeal and giggle as she blushed. Rumple was _never_ one for public display of affection. He even made sure to moderate how much he showed to her when they were out, but he always made up for it when they were alone. For him to do this simple act in front of all theses ladies meant that something big was happening. Suddenly Belle remembered what Aurora had told her. _It's a very special and important day for one of us_. Belle's mind was racing, going through all the important days she knew of. She focused mostly on the ones that involved her and Rumple and she suddenly blushed harder, if it was possible.

"Our anniversary." She whispered. How could she have forgotten?! Wasn't it suppose to be the man who always forgot? But than again, this was Rumple she was talking about. He never forgot about anything. And it was only their _first_ anniversary, so it wasn't like she had ones before to actually remember.

Rumple chuckled. "I didn't remind you this morning because I wanted it to be a surprise. I also knew you've been too busy to remember."

"Rumple, I'm so sorry."

The girls all laughed at how sweet Belle was being. They thought you could only be sexy, beautiful, or cute. But Belle was proving to be all three. And two of those at the same time.

"Belle," the girl in question looked at Mulan, "we have a very special dinner prepared for you two."

"All you have to do is accept." Tink smiled.

Ruby stepped closer to her from behind and added, "And next time, you decided what we do for Girl's Night."

Belle laughed. She couldn't believe so many things right now. That her friends (and yes, they were her friends she realized) had gone through all this trouble for her and Rumple. Someone they were extremely cautious of if not hated. And that Rumple had set it all up. She realized he was still holding the rose out and was expecting an answer.

She took the flower and smiled, almost crying. "Yes, I would love to have dinner with you."

The girls all clapped as they linked arms and Rumple led her outside. There she saw Dove standing outside with the car. _Who all was a part of this?_ she wondered.

Dove held the door open of the couple and made his way to the drivers seat. She had thought that they would be going to Granny's, but Rumple was as usual...surprising.

They rode up to the edge of the forest where Belle saw a path was made out. It was smooth and looked like it would be easier to walk with her high heels she always wore.

"Thank you Dove." Gold told his henchman.

He thanked the sorcerer back and drove the car away. The couple walked up and another surprise was waiting for Belle. Rumple had set up the well to look identical to their wedding night, but in place of where they stood for their vows was a table and chairs. And the dinner Emma had said they helped cooked. Belle couldn't believe it.

"Rumple," she whispered, turning towards him. "I can't believe this."

He smiled. "I know it's hard for you to believe, but those ladies really do respect you. They know how much you do for them. Mostly putting up with me so I'm easier for them to handle."

Belle laughed. Was it possible to love this man any more?

"So I asked them for some help and they quickly agreed without question."

"No price?"

"There was one."

Belle looked at him. She wouldn't scold him. Not now. "What was it?"

"To make my wife the happiest woman in all the realms. After all, you're the wife of the Dark One. You deserve to be treated with respect."

"I hope you didn't bully that into them." She smiled.

"Of course not."

They laughed and began their night. They ate and talked and Rumple even danced with her. She didn't ask where the music was coming from because honestly, she hadn't thought about it. Everything as too perfect to question.

"I can't believe I didn't remember." She laughed. The fact still caught her off guard.

"I don't blame you. Everything's been busy with us but I hope I can't make up for everything. Our first year may have not been the best, but I intended to make the next years, from this day on, everything you wanted."

Belle brought his lips to hers. He was right. Their marriage may not have started out right, but Belle was learning that it didn't matter how you started. It only mattered how you lived it.

The next week, although it wasn't two weeks later, Belle finally joined all the girls for Girl's Night. They were actually all relieved to not be spending it at a bar and when Belle asked why they always did, they answered that they didn't know how else to spend it. Although they didn't have the intellectual talk like Belle often thought they would, she didn't care anymore. To know that these girls went through all the trouble of dealing with Rumple so _she_ could have a perfect night, showed her how much they really did care for her. They explained how Rumple was right. They did respect her for everything they did and all agreed without question that she was the smartest among them. Ella even mentioned how she was jealous and wished she even had the patience to do research. They even agreed to help Belle on the next escapade and villain attack and let her join in not the action. After all, she was the one who defeated the Yagoai, survived the Evil Queen's prison and asylum, even survived being shot and attacked by Hook three times, and most of all, fell in love with the baddest beast of all, the Dark One. And she was doing a bang up job on keeping him reigned in. They spent the night letting the movie play in the background while they talked about what they always did. Boys. To Belle's surprise, it was teasing them which she throughly enjoyed since Emma had plenty of stories of the pirate trying to get a hang of the modern world. Apparently, driving wasn't going well for him. For the first time, Belle felt like she was part of the group and she was suddenly happy with her place in it. Especially if they admitted they couldn't survive without her knowledge. From that night on, she always joined in on Girl's Night and even got the ladies to start a book club. Maybe this year would be better.

* * *

Okay, so this is the very first piece of writing I wrote that's all sappy. Honestly, I hate to admit it sometimes but I am a romantic at heart. It's just bloody difficult for me to show it to other people without being teased. It took a while to get through this because sometimes, all that sappiness is too much for me to handle, lol. Honestly, this had started out as a Girl's Night where they learn respect for Belle and she goes on a bit of a strike (lol, I can see her with a picket fence...sorry, sign). But halfway through, this idea popped in my head and I just went with it. Like I said, it's my first sappy/romantic fic and the idea came in the middle of it so I had to find a way to make it flow well.

Please let me know how I did and what you think. Thank you. :)

A/N: Also, not really sure why Mulan, Lily, Aurora, and Astrid were there. I guess like it would have been better with more people. Also, never seen Ella and Belle together so why not?


End file.
